The Forbidden Forest
by mistcloak6
Summary: Draco/Hermione fanfiction. Ron is jealous of Hermione's secrecy about her meetings with Draco. When an incident at the forbidden forest brings the Gryffindor and Slytherin together, everything changes. How will her friends react? What will the Malfoy's think?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

"We can't keep meeting up like this!" Hermione insisted as Draco eyed her walking towards him. Her hair was in a mess and her pet cat was slowly creeping beside her. Draco hated that cat; he felt that it was another obstacle that would get between him and what he wanted. All he wanted was her.

However, he had to pretend that their exchange was strictly business or else, he knew that Ron would be hearing about this. Draco knew that Ron felt the same way about Hermione, he'd known since 2nd year when Ron had a spell backfire as he tried to defend Hermione. Draco smirked to himself and gazed up at Hermione as she inched closer to him, her chest heaving and the vapour she breathed out whisping around his face. It was cold in the forest although it was the end of May, the tulips had begun to gather on the forest floor and the temperature was well below a comfortable level.

"What are you smiling at Malfoy?" Hermione demanded as she noticed the boy hadn't said a word to her since she arrived in the forest.

"I want to show you something" Draco whispered as he reached out to touch her hand in a beckoning gesture. Hermione slightly pulled back, his hands felt warm compared to the icy air, she quickly glanced back at him and saw a hidden unease in his face. She decided to give him a chance and placed her hand back into his. Draco smiled to himself _Just you wait Granger, Soon you'll be mine. _

Draco lead her to a clearing in the middle of the forest, Hermione had only a vague memory of the directions in the Forbidden forest because she had not been here since freeing Buckbeak in third year.

"I hope you know where you're taking me Malfoy and this had better be quick, I must revise for our Potions examination tomorrow and… " She leaned down to cradle Crookshanks in her arms "poor Crooks is sleepy. How much longer is this going to take?"

Draco rolled his eyes and continued to lead the way. As they reached the top of the next hill, Hermione started to fumble around in her robe pocket for her wand. Draco stopped to watch her. "Is there something the matter Granger?" He spat out in an irritated tone.

"I'm looking for my wand Draco, I believe this may become a dangerous situation" "What makes you think that? Just as Draco muttered the last word,

_—CRACK—_

Hermione screamed and fell to the ground, a troll similar to the one she encountered in her first year at Hogwarts had just smashed through a large tree and was coming towards her.

She looked around frantically for Draco but he was nowhere in sight. A sickening thought occurred to her _What if he's dead? _He had always insulted her and called her a mudblood, but now she realised that she didn't want to lose him.

"Crookshanks!" She screamed "Come back!" the orange cat she dearly loved had scampered into the forest. _What am I supposed to do now?_

Hermione reached down to her robe pocket and managed to finally pull her wand away from a loop of thread in which it had been caught. _Incendio! _Sparks flew out of the tip of her wand and set fire to a branch hovering over the head of the troll. It collapsed and made a THUNK as it fell on the troll's enormous skull. The giant creature thrashed around as it tried to escape the burning ash in its face.

_Well that should teach him a lesson _thought Hermione as the troll trudged back into the woods. Suddenly Hermione heard a rustle in the shrubs behind her; she turned slowly and raised her wand in defence. It was past midnight, anything could be here. She felt a cold tingle overtake her whole body. _Oh no please don't be… _but it was too late. Hermione would not awaken until a few hours later.

"Absolute rubbish this school" Draco muttered angrily to himself "my father will hear about this" Draco had not seen the troll but he had found himself suddenly being snatched and was tied to a tree by none other than Oedipus, a Centaur who had betrayed the herd and was known for kidnapping students. "Dumbledore can't even control a stupid half-breed" Draco criticized as he struggled to escape the ropes which held him tightly and were chafing his skin.

_Ow! _he exclaimed as a thistle scratched his pointy elbow. He had to escape, he had to find Hermione and make sure she was safe. _What had happened to her?_ He wondered. He lashed about and tried to think of a spell to use which would enable him to break away from the tree. He swiftly spotted a sharp rock lying on the forest floor about a metre to his left.

_Accio Petra _he summoned. The rock quickly floated to his right hand which was tied loosely compared to the rest of his body. He quickly gripped the sharp stone in his sore fingers and began to saw at the rope which bound him. Eventually he was able to use his freed hands to loosen the knots and jumped down, landing on his knees in the moist shrubbery. Draco quickly arose, wiping the dew on his school pants, with a look of disgust and began to trek through the forest looking for Hermione. Using his wand as a light source, Draco finally found his way back to the hillside where they had been standing a few hours beforehand.

"Hermione! Are you okay?" he exclaimed frantically with a worrisome expression. He bent down next to her body which was pale and ran his fingertips over her neck and the side of her face while tears slowly started to well up in his eyes. Her skin was beautiful, it was pale but to him she was glowing. Although her body was cold, he took comfort in this moment of contact because he knew she would never fall for him. He was a Slytherin and … well he didn't want to torture himself with those thoughts. Draco felt the tears begin to well over and pour down onto his cheek. It wasn't fair; he knew he would never be good enough for her. His father would disapprove of course. Draco only called her a filthy mudblood because he had been raised to think that way and he wanted to cover up how he truly felt about her.

"Hermione I know you can't hear me" he sobbed while gently tucking a lock of her soft golden-brown hair behind her ear "but I think that I…" Draco stopped and looked down to see Hermione's chest slowly rising and falling once more. Her eyelashes fluttered as her eyelids flew open.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

_seven months earlier_

Hermione swiftly entered the dining hall for the famous Halloween feast on a chilly October evening and to her surprise found none other than Draco Malfoy sitting at the Gryffindor table. All the other 5th years eyed him suspiciously but he didn't react. The tall blond boy was staring up at the bewitched ceiling, his jaw resting on his bony hands.

"Malfoy?" Hermione questioned in a high-pitched voice. The brown-haired witch started to feel her cheeks redden as all the other students eyed her with quizzical expressions.

Ron and Harry were a few steps behind the confused witch and stopped dead in their tracks when they realised the Slytherin was sitting at their table.

"Malfoy!" exclaimed Harry as he took another step towards the daydreaming Slytherin. The blond boy's head snapped towards the sound of the Gryffindor's angry shouts.

"Potter!" he spat out, eyeing the famous boy wizard.

A crowd began to gather around the Gryffindor dining table, the students surrounding them drew closer and tried to eavesdrop on the imminent fight.

"What're you doing at our table Malfoy?" Ron inquired, stepping in, wand-raised, ready to defend his best friend.

"I need to speak with Granger" Draco answered with a smirk on his otherwise expressionless face.

Hermione had been standing quietly the whole time observing the situation, _what could Draco Malfoy possibly want from me? He's never spoken to me before… apart from all the times he insulted me calling me a mudblood and other derogatory terms… _she thought. Hermione then decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Ron, Harry, thank you for trying to help," she smiled at them reassuringly although she had no idea what she was doing. Harry stepped back with a bewildered look and Ron slowly lowered his wand but did not place it back in his robe pocket. Both wizards watched intently, along with the rest of the dining hall it seemed.

"Malfoy," Hermione turned to face the Slytherin "what do you want?" she looked down into his cold greyish-green eyes waiting for a response.

Draco stood up abruptly and suddenly his face was only two inches from hers. She held her breath and looked back at him with her eyebrow raised slightly as if to say …_well, I'm waiting. _

The boy was only a few inches taller than Hermione, he was skinny yet his shoulders were broad and his forearms; which were exposed from under his rolled up sleeves, appeared to be smooth and toned. Draco's eyes followed Hermione's as she examined his arms and her head snapped up. She began to blush as she noticed that he had seen her gaze at him. The Slytherin smiled to himself and Hermione couldn't help but to blush at the proximity with which they were standing.

"Granger?" Draco let her name roll of his tongue as he slyly let his eyes wander around her face and then slowly down to her neck. "Cat got your tongue?" He smirked at the fact that Hermione Granger; the brightest witch of her age and a goody two-shoes, had been eyeing him - a Slytherin.

Hermione stepped back and tried to compose herself. _Was Draco Malfoy looking at her? And not just looking, more like ogling… _She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, which were also turning red and looked back up at him.

"You didn't answer my question," she stated "Why were you sitting at our table?" she swallowed and cleared her throat while staring directly into his eyes.

"I have to tell you something," he started cautiously, and then lowering his voice, he leaned in closer to her ear "meet me outside the great hall at 11 tonight."

Hermione felt his warm breath against the side of her face and she could smell the apple-scented soap he used, she wondered what the others were thinking of this strange exchange with a Slytherin boy but before she could argue or refuse his offer, he turned on his heel and strutted towards the large doors. As she looked up, he had disappeared behind them and was gone.

"Bloody hell, you'd think he was under the imperius curse with the way that git was acting" Ron grumbled to Harry. Ron was suddenly suspicious of the exchange of whispering between Draco and Hermione and stared at them furiously until Draco walked out and Hermione stood there staring at the door as if the Slytherin was still present.

Later during dessert time after all the fuss had died down, Hermione was gazing across the hall absent-mindedly as the ice-cream began to melt in her bowl. "Hermione!" Harry snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Oh sorry Harry what were you saying?" She turned her attention back to her table and began to scoop up the chocolate on the side of her bowl with her spoon. She raised it to her mouth slowly while giving her best friend a quizzical look.

"What did Malfoy whisper to you?" Harry questioned again as Ron rolled his eyes then continued digging into his delicious tower of pumpkin pie, whipped cream and pumpkin-shaped sprinkles which were bewitched to multiply every time the boy took another bite.

"Oh…um Malfoy just wanted to meet me…" she looked down at her plate awkwardly waiting for an outburst from one of her friends. They just looked up at her inquisitively. Ron's eyebrow shot up, but he continued eating.

"Go on," nudged Harry "What did he want? Are you going to meet him up with him then?" His expression was slightly curious yet he was exasperated at the same time with Hermione's sudden lack of focus.

Hermione had made up her mind, "Yes I will meet up with Malfoy, I want to see what he wants from me." With that, she promptly slung her book bag over her shoulder, stood up and walked out of the Great hall to find Draco.

"She's a bloody lunatic that one," Ron sneered as he stuffed himself with more pie and took a swig of pumpkin juice. Harry rolled his eyes and smiled to himself. _Perhaps she's interested in Draco, wait a minute… this is Hermione we're talking about. _Harry grabbed Ron's arm and looked towards the door urgently.

"Alright fine…bloody 'mione" Ron grumbled as he followed Harry out of the hall, longingly staring back at the mountains of food on the table. _Then again, I don't want that prick going anywhere near Hermione… _Ron thought as he walked out into the corridor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Hermione swiftly exited the Great Hall and looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of Malfoy's blond hair in the dim hallway. She scanned her surroundings for a few seconds before deciding to postpone her pursuit.

_I do have some potions homework to complete anyway_.

She climbed up some stairs towards the second floor and paused in front of a painting she hadn't really noticed before. The painting was of an old cottage with a straw-thatched roof and a large pile of pails, cartons and glass bottles laying outside the heavy timber door. The emerald coloured hills in the background were shimmering and the paint created an effect of the landscape moving towards the cottage and out of the picture towards her. As Hermione admired the artwork further, she realised it was slightly more withered than the other paintings adjacent to it and the frame was a rusty brown colour.

_That's odd_; she thought to herself; _I'm sure Filch would have tended to it if he saw it. _

She took one last look at the picture and as she turned back towards the stairs she could have sworn, out of the corner of her eye, she had seen a shadow of a skinny figure in the painting that flitted quickly across the canvas.

_I must be tired _she thought as she stared at it again in disbelief and then turning on her heel, she ran further up the stairs.She continued on down the corridor to the Gryffindor Common room and found the fat lady dozing off clutching a feathery pink and white fan in her left hand.

"Tessera"Hermione whispered, so as to not startle the Fat lady. With a yawn, the Fat lady slowly awakened, "What time is it my dear"" she asked Hermione in her shrill voice.

"It' s 8:30 now M'am." replied Hermione glancing at the clock on the locket, which her parents had given her for Christmas.

"Oh my!" The Fat Lady shrieked "I'm running late for the Baroness' Halloween Party". The figure in the portrait began to collect her belongings and then turned slightly to admire herself in the mirror on her dressing table. As she started to step into the painting on the left side of the wall, she stopped and turned back to Hermione, "Oh how silly of me, do go in my dear child. " The door swung open. "Wait a moment, shouldn't you be in the great hall enjoying the feast?" The Fat lady glanced down at Hermione with a raised eyebrow as if waiting for an explanation.

"Oh um... I have to finish some homework" Hermione blushed. It was not often that Hermione was reprimanded by adults, let alone a painting of one.

"Well if you say so child, Take care and I shall return within a few hours." The Fat lady took a couple of steps more and disappeared into the next painting. Hermione quickly stepped into the Common room and closed the door behind her.

_I suppose I have a few hours to complete my studies then I will go find Draco and see what on earth he wants from me. _

Draco had stormed off from the Gryffindor table and began wondering what had possessed him to ask for Granger's help in the first place. He didn't like the way Weasley had threatened him and he certainly did not enjoy being seen sitting at a table of inferiors. He thought these things to himself as he skulked off into the hallway and up the stairs to the second floor.

Draco stopped at the fourth stair then reached his three middle fingers to touch the scene in the painting. With a spell mumbled under his breath, he was transported into the picture and landed on a pile of wooden boxes and glass bottles.

"Curse you Hagrid!" the blond boy yelped in pain then staggered further into the greenery next to the cottage.

_I'd better take care of some things before Granger gets here…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Ron and Harry had caused such a great commotion stumbling out of the great hall that they had caught the attention of Professor Snape, who eyed them suspiciously with his lips pursed.

They finally arrived panting at the door of the Gryffindor common room but the Fat lady was not in her frame.

"Tessera" Ron bellowed.

"She's obviously gone Ron, she can't_ hear_ you" Harry emphasised with an eye roll.

Just as Harry reached for the edge of the frame, Hermione pulled the door open with a flustered expression on her face. She stepped out into the corridor, leaving the frame ajar and jumped back in surprise when she saw Harry and Ron standing directly in her way.

"Where the bloody hell did you go?" questioned Ron with his arms folded across his chest. Harry elbowed him in the ribs and subtly shook his head at Ron.

"I think what Ron means is…" Harry continued.

Hermione nervously shifted from foot to foot and glanced sideways to avoid Ron's gaze. She hated herself for causing so much trouble and she especially disliked fighting with Ron.

"What I mean is; why are you lying to us? What's going on between you and Malfoy?" Ron interrupted Harry and glared at Hermione accusingly.

_I suppose I should tell them… _Hermione thought to herself._ I should, I know, but Draco loathes Harry and Ron. _She wanted to find out for herself and she didn't think Malfoy would appreciate her telling anyone to come with her.

As Hermione was about to open her mouth, she heard some swift yet heavy footsteps and spun around to see who it was.

"Potter, Granger, Weasley!" Snape snarled

"This is your fault Hermione" moaned Ron as he turned to face the potions master.

"_Yes_ Professor?" Harry replied slyly.

Snape gave Harry a withering look then continued, "You three are to report to my office at once, you have detention," Snape eyed the door to the common room then quickly back to Hermione and added "now."

Hermione looked back at the empty picture frame and sighing, pulled it shut, then she followed the professor and her two friends down the stairs to Snape's office.

Snape's black robes dragged across the polished marble floor in front of them as they followed quietly, each one wishing they had stayed in the Great Hall to enjoy the feast. Harry and Ron slightly lagged behind Hermione. Ron shuffled his feet and Harry avoided the angry stares Ron was throwing his way. Hermione quickened her step so she would not be forced to converse with Ron, whom she felt would soon burn a hole in the back of her skull with the glares he was giving her from behind.

Snape spun around, his garment swishing around his black leather shoes and looked down on the three students. He whisked out his wand and cast a spell on the damp brick wall opposite the staircase leading down to the Slytherin common room. An arched wooden door appeared and Snape tucked his wand back into his robe pockets and stormed inside.

The Gryffindors stood in the doorway not wanting to enter the musty, cramped office of the professor they all detested. Snape sat in an old and torn leather chair which had lost its colour a long time ago. He pulled open a desk drawer to his left and took out some quills and a few pieces of parchment.

"Sit down here _Potter,_" he grunted and motioned to a wooden stool facing the middle of the mahogany desk. "Granger, Weasley, would you care to join your _friend? " _Snape almost spat out the last word of his sentence and gave them all withering stares with his left eyebrow slightly raised.

Ron and Hermione eyed each other furtively then quickly took the other two stools on either side of Harry and waited for further instruction. If this were any other day, the three of them would have been smiling secretively at each other and joke about the whole situation afterwards. But the tension in the air was unbearable and the three of them wished they were anywhere but in the dingy, old potion master's office.

Snape gave each of them a piece of rectangular parchment and a feather quill and then he finally spoke again. "Before you start your detention, I must ask you one question," His eyes gazed across the three students, then directly into Hermione's eyes, it felt like an eternity before he finished his gaze, "Where is Malfoy?"

**NB: Thanks for your reviews! I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, I promise the pace will pick up again soon! Just need to set the scene :) Please enjoy! let me know if there's anything I should fix/clarify :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five:

Draco staggered into the forest surrounding Hagrid's hut, _I'd better take care of some things before Granger figures out a way to get in here. _He had asked Hermione to meet him for an important matter and he was certain she was the only one who could help.

As Draco trudged further and further into the woods it began to grow dark and the blond boy began to get weary. Suddenly he heard the flapping of large wings. A gust of wind followed by a whooshing sound almost knocked him over. A large magnificent creature stood before him, it had the face of an eagle and the body of a lion. The entire animal was covered in grey and white feathers which were now gleaming in the moonlight.

"Oh there you are you stupid beast" Draco sighed exasperatedly, "well come on then." The boy took hold of the fraying rope which was tied loosely around the gryphon's neck and tried to pull it away, but to no avail, the creature wouldn't budge. "You bloody creature, move!" he yelled and tugged at the rope even more forcefully.

"Malfoy? What the blazes are ye doing?" A gruff voice bellowed.

Draco stopped suddenly, dropping the rope from his spiny fingers and turned to see where the voice was coming from. He knew that voice anywhere and the Hogwarts groundkeeper was the last person he wanted to see.

The tall brooding figure emerged from behind the shrubbery and Draco could see that Hagrid had been hunting. A transparent sack which held ferrets, otters and other small creatures with bloody manes was hanging on Hagrid's shoulder and he had a crossbow resting in the elbow crease of his other bulky arm. Draco wasn't sure what he could say which would get him out of this situation.

Hagrid eyed the skinny boy and Draco felt his cheeks turn red as he became increasingly flustered. "It's not what it looks like you big oaf, if you mention this to Dumbledore, my father will hear of this."

"It'd be better for all of us if yer father did hear of this and took you out of this school you undeserving buffoon," muttered the groundkeeper under his breath. He scowled at Draco then began to dig through his sack. He pulled out a large ferret and hurled it towards the Gryphon. Draco ducked just in time as the enormous animal leaped to catch the flying carcass in its beak. The boy shuddered then watched the gryphon chomp loudly on its meal.

"Look I don't have time for this," Draco eyed Hagrid then averted his gaze, "I've asked Granger to meet me tonight and I'm bringing her here to see this..." his face turned to disgust as he turned his attention back to the creature which was now licking the ferret's bones.

"And why would our Miss Granger be talking with the likes of ye?" Hagrid raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"She agreed as a matter of fact," Draco replied smugly "I bet you're surprised, I bet everyone thought little old Granger was a perfect student and goody-two-shoes. But she's not."

Hagrid was certainly surprised but he didn't answer Malfoy right away. After a moment of awkward silence in which Draco continued to glare at the groundkeeper and Hagrid contemplated in his head as to why Hermione would even make conversation with a Slytherin student; Hagrid finally spoke up again.

"Malfoy! Where the bloody hell did Fortis go?"

And alas the gryphon had disappeared without a trace.

* * *

**N.B: sorry I took so long to upload this chapter, It's been a busy couple of weeks! Thanks again for reading :) Reviews are always welcome :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

After what seemed like an eternity, Snape finally took his beady eyes off the trio. He slowly leaned back in his torn leather chair and spun around to face the small square-shaped window.

"You can all stay here in detention until one of you tells me where I can find the boy." Snape hissed at them while still staring out of the dusty glass.

Ron snapped his head to glare at Hermione while Harry examined his shoelaces in the awkward silence. Hermione thought she should tell Snape about Malfoy's strange behaviour and cryptic message in the dining hall earlier that evening but decided against it. She was not responsible for Malfoy's whereabouts and she didn't want to tarnish her good reputation. _But he could be in danger _she thought to herself.

Finally Harry spoke up "Professor, I swear to you we have nothing to do with Malfoy. We were in the dining hall the whole time and we just went upstairs to check on Hermione because she was working on her potions assignment."

Snape turned quickly back to the three Gryffindor students and rose from his seat with a _creak._

Hermione looked up at Harry with a grateful expression. _Oh Harry you truly are a wonderful friend_

Ron couldn't hide his disgust and rolled his eyes at the excuse. _Bloody pathetic_! _So now Harry wants to defend Malfoy as well_? _They might as well join him and his cronies, see if I care…_

Snape noticed the glimpse of jealousy in Ron's eyes and smirked to himself. "Is that what happened Weasley? Or is there something else you'd like to add to this wild tale?"

Harry eyed Ron cautiously, avoiding eye contact.

"Yes sir, that is what happened," he said ignoring Harry's glances and Hermione's pleading eyes. "Can we go back to the feast now?" Ron asked coyly

Hermione sighed loudly _Honestly Ron is that all that you can think of at a time like this? Food is your biggest concern? _

Snape extended his arms to readjust his robes and folded his arms across his chest with a superior sneer on his pale face.

"I … suppose… so," he murmured as if it was an effort to let go of each word "But you must do one thing for me." He paused and looked across at the bewildered expressions on their faces "Bring Malfoy to me by tomorrow morning at 9 sharp or you may lose your rights to visit Hogsmeade."

"You can't do that!" Ron howled

"Shush Ron!" Harry reprimanded as he kicked his foot under the desk.

Hermione glared at them both then rose from her seat and faced Snape with the best composure she could muster up. "Yes Professor, we will see you tomorrow morning." Then she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Harry and Ron stumbled and ran to follow her.

Ron caught up to Hermione at the foot of the stairs near the dungeon and grabbed her by the shoulder, she turned to face him and they were so close she could feel his hot breath tickling her nose. She stepped back flustered and hissed at him through her teeth "What?"

"Where are you going?" was all he managed to say as he panted and examined her face for any clues as to what was going through her mind. He had never stood so close to her before. Sure they had hugged many times before as friends. He still remembered how she had cuddled up to him when Buckbeak was beheaded but this was different and he couldn't bring himself to yell at her. He didn't want to ruin this moment.

Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder and Ron jumped startled. "Bloody Hell Harry!" He let go of Hermione's shoulder and the three of them faced each other awkwardly.

"So Hermione, what's the plan?" Questioned Harry.

Hermione had her eyebrows furrowed together as she usually did when studying for an exam or when she was arguing with Ron. She kept walking towards the Gryffindor common room as they followed her with puzzled expressions. She stopped on the fourth stair on the staircase to the second floor and re-examined the painting she had seen earlier.

Ron and Harry followed her lead but they didn't understand what was happening.

"Malfoy!" Hermione shouted and pointed towards the top right hand corner of the canvas where there was a patch of greenery surrounding a clearing in the forest. Sure enough in the centre of the greenery, there was a blond boy in black robes and next to him a large figure with an untamed beard.

"Hagrid?" Harry whispered.

They all looked at each other completely dumbfounded.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

After an hour of trudging through the greenery and yelling out the gryphon's name, Hagrid and Draco came back to the clearing and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Hagrid turned to Draco with an angry glare, "Ye meddling boy, Fortis is all alone in the forest now, he can't feed himself yet, and he's still recovering from his injuries."

Draco shrugged and kept his eyes focused on the ground. _I'd better return to the common room or Snape will send a search party for me. _

A cool breeze blew through the forest sending shivers down Draco's spine. It was already 10 pm and he had told Hermione to meet him at 11. Draco stood up abruptly and turned to walk up the hill to the school. Hagrid reached out his large hands and pulled him back. "Just where do ye think yer going?"

"Don't touch me you big oaf!" the boy shrugged him off with a look of disgust, "My father will hear about this."

Hagrid stepped back and clasped his hands together as if he were pleading with Draco. "But Fortis is lost and it's all your fault!" Hagrid began sobbing loudly, his shoulders heaving and shaking violently.

Draco felt guilty and sighed loudly. "I'm bringing Hermione here tonight; she can help you find that creature, as for me I'd better leave now, I'll meet you back at your hut in an hour."

Before Hagrid could bring himself to speak, the boy had run swiftly up the hill and disappeared behind the magnificent arched doors.

"Is that…"

"Yes Ronald!" Hermione interjected as Ron stared furiously at the canvas.

"Hermione, are you going to meet up with him tonight?" Harry asked quietly.

"You know what? I think I will, I have to meet him at 11" she glanced up at the gigantic clock above the portrait of the jungle animals and continued with a gasp "I only have 30 minutes!"

Ron was envious that Hermione had agreed to fraternise with Draco. Not only was he a Slytherin, Draco and his family had always done their best to make the Weasley's feel inferior.

As Ron and Harry observed Hermione re-enter the common room in a hurry to prepare herself, Ron whispered "You don't think she likes him do you Harry?"

"Nah Ron, I don't" Harry responded calmly.

Harry couldn't say anything else, he didn't want to lose his best friend and it was worse for him when they were fighting. Deep down Harry had a feeling that Hermione had fallen for a Slytherin and this worried him.

"Should we go downstairs then and finish dessert?" Ron mumbled

Harry nodded and the two of them made their way down the hallway towards the festivities.

Hermione looked in the mirror and noticed her hair was untidy, she had bags under her eyes and her skin was a blotchy red colour.

_Oh goodness, is that really how I looked all day? _She grabbed her hairbrush and madly started grooming her bushy brown hair. _That should do it. _She thought to herself as she clipped it back. The girl began to rummage through her suitcase to find some makeup. Her mother had bought her some muggle beauty items which she was not familiar with; a tube of pink glittery liquid which was labelled 'Candy's cute sugar-coated lip gloss,' a glass cylinder which contained some light brown powder, and a brush which could be used to apply some coloured dust to one's face.

_Oh this would take far too long to apply._

Hermione took out her wand and performed a simple beautifying charm. She changed her blouse to a lighter cream colour and wore some comfortable black flats instead of her lace-ups. Before leaving her room, Hermione quickly checked herself out and adjusted her skirt. _Why am I worried about my appearance so much all of a sudden? _

Then it hit her.

"No way" she whispered to herself while staring into the large bathroom mirror. She shook her head then turned and walked back out into the common room. It was empty since everyone was still partying and trick-or-treating downstairs. She heard some explosions from the Great Hall.

_Must be Fred and George_'s _exploding candy, _she smiled to herself then checked her watch. It was 10:55. With an uneasy feeling in her stomach and her heart racing, she ran downstairs and sat on a bench watching the celebrations while she waited for Draco.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8:**_

Draco hurried through the corridors amidst all the celebrations and the laughter of the other students. _Get out of my way fools, _he angrily muttered to himself as he pushed past an unsuspecting gaggle of first year girls who were gathered around a muggle magazine as if it were a treasured artefact.

Draco was worried that Hermione had changed her mind and would leave him looking like an idiot.

The closer he got to the Great Hall, the more he started to sweat. Nerves he supposed, but why? She was only a filthy mudblood to him.

The blond boy soon paused and fixed himself in a mirror hanging by the staircase. He took a deep breath then stepped out from behind the magnificent brick wall into the foyer adjacent to the Great Hall. There, about 30 metres away was the Gryffindor girl sitting on the bench where she had promised to wait. She quickly looked up as if she were waiting impatiently for his arrival. He met her glance with a sour smile and took several steps closer in order to accomplish his mission.

Hermione glanced quickly at her pocket-watch to see that it was now 10:59 and felt someone staring at her from across the foyer. She slyly caught a glimpse of the slender figure of a boy eyeing her and smiled secretly to herself. As he approached her, he smiled awkwardly. She was not sure if it was an expression of disgust, excitement or if he was plotting something.

When the two were finally close enough to start conversing, Draco said nothing but turned abruptly towards the gate and signalled for her to follow him.

"Where are we going?" she questioned exasperatedly as she took larger strides to catch up with Malfoy.

"Be quiet, this is a secret" he hissed back at her while still making his way out of the school building.

Hermione's curiosity had the better of her and so she continued to shadow the boy through the darkness of the school grounds. In silence, they trudged down the hill in the frosty air until they reached Hagrid's hut.

"Hagrid?" Hermione quizzed "What on Earth are we doing at Hagrid's?"

Draco ignored her and stepped over the glass bottles and broken crates at the entrance to the hut and reached up to pound on the heavy wooden door.

Hermione folded her arms and hugged herself tightly to block the cold wind blowing from the forest. Draco stared at her, making her uncomfortable, until Hagrid finally opened the door with such force that the hinges broke loose.

"Oops! That's not the first time I'll tell ye that," he reassured them with a sheepish smile as he jammed the door back into place. The two stepped inside the tiny cabin and began to remove their gloves, beanies and scarves due to the stifling heat caused by the roaring fire at the stove.

The cauldron in the fireplace was bubbling over and Hermione could see that Hagrid had been entertaining guests as she caught a glimpse of the half-empty teacups and biscuits laying on his table.

"Been entertaining Hagrid?" Hermione wondered out loud then bit her lip and stopped herself in case it wasn't her business.

Hagrid nodded offhandedly as he plodded himself into his favourite chair and leaned over to stoke the fire. He grabbed the cauldron's handle with his rough calloused hands unprotected and began to pour some of the water into a large purple teapot.

"Tea?" He offered Draco and Hermione.

They both politely refused and remained standing near the door.

"Well don't just stand there kids." Hagrid beckoned them to sit down in the only remaining seats. A tattered couch on which Hagrid's bloodhound Fang had claimed the entire right side for himself. "You'll have to excuse Fang, He doesn't like to sit on the floor but there's plenty of space right here" Hagrid smiled invitingly as he pointed to the now two-seater across from his favourite chair.

Hermione sat down first on the opposite side as far as possible from Fang, and Draco followed with a disgusted expression. They had to sit incredibly close and Hermione could feel Draco's elbows digging into her ribs as he scooted towards her more and more to escape the drool which was hanging from the dog's mouth. To make matters worse, the couch seats were sinking and a spring was sticking out from the left side which meant that Hermione had to lean onto Draco to avoid being impaled.

After a few seconds of extreme awkwardness, Draco finally spoke.

"So Hagrid, I've brought her here, what would you like us to do?"


End file.
